CNES and UAESA sign declaration on climate

In the presence of President Emmanuel Macron and the Emir of Dubai, CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall and Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Chairman of the United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA), signed a joint declaration of interest on tackling climate change.
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In the presence of President Emmanuel Macron and the Emir of Dubai, CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall and Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Chairman of the United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA), signed a joint declaration of interest on tackling climate change.

CNES and UAESA had previously signed in 2015 a memorandum of understanding on the peaceful uses of outer space that now forms the framework for space cooperation between France and the United Arab Emirates.
 
The declaration signed today commits CNES and UAESA to:
- Support the proposal to create a Global Climate Observatory (GCO), which will be made through the Paris Declaration to be discussed by the world’s heads of space agencies at the One Planet Summit in Paris on 12 December.
- Deepen the cooperation on Earth observation between the two nations to increase the role of space missions in tackling climate change, as proposed by space agencies after COP21.
- Encourage closer exchanges between CNES and UAESA teams to consolidate the results of climate change research from both sides.
 
France and the United Arab Emirates have been very active in promoting international cooperation on space for climate, in particular through the Mexico, New Delhi and Marrakesh Declarations and through their support for COP21 decisions.
 
With the COP23 conference currently being chaired by Fiji in Bonn, Germany, this joint declaration of interest is a new illustration of the space sector’s commitment to tackling global warming. And CNES is once again offering its expertise to serve the planet through close collaboration with UAESA ahead of the One Planet Summit to be organized in Paris at the initiative of President Macron.
Vincent Chappard

Vincent Chappard

Vincent is an aerospace editor and consultant based in Paris.